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Jeremiah 17
New Catholic Bible
Jeremiah 17
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 17
Judah Punished for Its Idolatry
1 [a]The sin of Judah is written
with an iron stylus,
engraved with a diamond point
on the tablet of their hearts
and on the horns of their altars,
2 while their children remember
their altars and their sacred poles
beside every green tree
and on the high hills,
3 the mountains in the open country.
Your wealth and all your treasures
I will hand over as spoil
in repayment for all your sins
throughout your territory.
4 You will be forced to surrender your heritage
which I gave to you.
I will require you to serve your enemies
in a land you do not know,
for my fiery anger has been kindled by you,
and it will burn forever.
Wisdom Sayings
5 Thus says the Lord:
Cursed is anyone who places his trust in human beings
and relies on human strength
while his heart turns away from the Lord.
6 Such a person is like a shrub in the desert;
when relief comes, he will not be aware of it.
He will continue to live
in the parched areas of the desert,
in an uninhabited salt land.
7 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and whose hope is the Lord.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that spreads out its roots to the stream.
When the heat comes, it does not fear;
its leaves stay green.
It is not concerned in a year of drought,
and it never fails to bear fruit.
9 The heart is more deceitful than any other thing,
and it is also perverse.
Who can uncover its secrets?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart
and probe the mind
to reward all according to their conduct
and as their deeds deserve.
11 Like a partridge[b] hatching eggs that it has not laid,
so is the man who amasses riches unjustly.
When his life is half completed,
they will desert him;
and when his life is at an end,
he will prove to have been a fool.
Israel’s True Hope
12 A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning:
such is the shrine of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, you are the hope of Israel;
all those who abandon you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you
will have their names inscribed in the netherworld
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the source of living water.
Prayer for Vengeance
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;
save me, and I will be saved;
you are the one whom I praise.
15 People continue to say to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come to pass.”
16 I have never tried to avoid
being a shepherd in your service,
nor have I desired the clay of despair.
Every word that passed my lips
has always been known to you.
17 Do not become a source of terror to me;
you will be my refuge on the day of disaster.
18 Let my persecutors be confounded, and not me;
let them, not me, be terrified.
Bring upon them the day of disaster;
crush them with unending destruction.
19 The Sabbath Observed.[c] Thus said the Lord to me: Go forth and stand at the Gate of Benjamin[d] through which the kings of Judah enter and depart, and stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem. 20 There you are to say to them: Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, all you people of Judah as well, and all you inhabitants of Jerusalem who pass through these gates.
21 Thus says the Lord: If you value your lives, take care that you do not carry a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Bring no burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, and do no work. You are to keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. 23 However, they did not listen or pay attention; rather, they stiffened their necks and would not heed my warnings or accept instruction.
24 But if you listen carefully to me, says the Lord, and carry no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, keeping the Sabbath holy and doing no work on that day, 25 then kings will come through the gates of this city, kings who will sit on the throne of David. They will come riding in chariots or on horseback, escorted by their officials, the people of Judah, and the citizens of Jerusalem. This city will be inhabited forever.
26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the foothills, from the hill country and the Negeb, to bring holocausts and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense and thank offerings, to the house of the Lord. 27 However, if you do not listen to my commands to keep the Sabbath day holy and to carry no burden through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will set fire to the gates, an unquenchable fire that will consume the palaces of Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:1 According to Jeremiah, a prophet of the interior life, relations with God are formed in the human heart; so too the source of sin is in the heart.
- Jeremiah 17:11 The partridge that hatches the eggs of another bird will see itself abandoned by these chicks.
- Jeremiah 17:19 This vehement defense of the law concerning the Sabbath rest is not in Jeremiah’s style. The passage must therefore have been introduced after the Exile. The same idea is found in Neh 13:15-22: the happy or unhappy future of the nation depends on fidelity to this observance.
- Jeremiah 17:19 Gate of Benjamin: (Jer 37:13; 38:7), this was the most used gate; it faced north toward the lands of the tribe of Benjamin. One gate of the temple had the same name (Jer 20:2).
Jeremiah 17
New International Version
Jeremiah 17
New International Version
17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,(A)
inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts(B)
and on the horns(C) of their altars.
2 Even their children remember
their altars and Asherah poles[a](D)
beside the spreading trees
and on the high hills.(E)
3 My mountain in the land
and your[b] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,(F)
together with your high places,(G)
because of sin throughout your country.(H)
4 Through your own fault you will lose
the inheritance(I) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies(J)
in a land(K) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
and it will burn(L) forever.”
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(M)
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(N)
6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places(O) of the desert,
in a salt(P) land where no one lives.
7 “But blessed(Q) is the one who trusts(R) in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.(S)
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(T)
and never fails to bear fruit.”(U)
9 The heart(V) is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart(W)
and examine the mind,(X)
to reward(Y) each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”(Z)
11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
and in the end they will prove to be fools.(AA)
12 A glorious throne,(AB) exalted from the beginning,
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(AC) of Israel;
all who forsake(AD) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(AE)
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the spring of living water.(AF)
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(AG)
save(AH) me and I will be saved,
for you are the one I praise.(AI)
15 They keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it now be fulfilled!”(AJ)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
you know I have not desired the day of despair.
What passes my lips(AK) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(AL) to me;
you are my refuge(AM) in the day of disaster.(AN)
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
but keep me from shame;
let them be terrified,
but keep me from terror.
Bring on them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction.(AO)
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[c] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.(AP) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(AQ) who come through these gates.(AR) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(AS) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(AT) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(AU) they were stiff-necked(AV) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(AW) 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy(AX) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(AY) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.(AZ) 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,(BA) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey(BB) me to keep the Sabbath(BC) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire(BD) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(BE)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / 3 and the mountains of the land. / Your
- Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
New International Version (NIV) 
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